Peterborough DBIA to Create Memorable Evening With Inaugural 'Love Yourself, Love The Boro' Event For Feb. 13

The Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) is making Downtown a night to remember with its inaugural ‘Love Yourself, Love the Boro’ event from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Feb. 13.

Other participating businesses include: The Vanilla Room, Couture Candy, The Speak Easy Cafe, Sugar Me Right, Watson & Lou, Needles in the Hay, Agave by Imperial, Iceman Video Games, By the Books, T-Elle Boutique, Brothers Pizza, Rawscoes Sports & Collectibles, Cozy Home, Lavender Moon, Naka Japanese and the Holiday Inn. Photo courtesy of the DBIA.

The event has exclusive deals, giveaways and surprises as attendees explore the downtown core. A self-guided tour of downtown businesses runs from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and ends with pop-ups, live entertainment and giveaways at The Venue from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The DBIA has released a Google Map that showcases the participating locations and highlights the exclusive offers and events.

The celebration at The Venue has popups from local artists and vintage vendors such as Em’s Broideries, Of Whimsy & Wonder, Hello Irene, Sarah Crane and Eclectic City.

”Our Love Yourself, Love the Boro event is a really wonderful opportunity for our community to show some love for our downtown businesses while also treating themselves to a special night out,” said Nour Mazloum, Peterborough DBIA executive director. “This event was designed as a way to guide people through all the amazing spots in our downtown area during what is typically a slower season for our businesses. Whether you’re going out with friends, a partner, or just want some self care, there’s something for everyone to enjoy and there are also some exciting giveaways and surprises to discover along the way.”

Needles in the Hay is hosting a drop-in felting workshop where community members can stop by to create a felted heart in their Hayloft space.

"At Needles in the Hay, we've always believed in the power of connection and creativity - as they go hand in hand" said Deanna Guttman, Needles in the Hay owner. “The Hayloft is our new studio space above the shop where fibre artists of all persuasions can come together to learn, celebrate and share their craft. We're thrilled to offer our drop-in needle felted hearts workshop for this event as it's the perfect opportunity for people to explore all downtown has to offer. We couldn't be more excited to welcome community members into our space to create something fun together.”

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Erben Restaurant and Music Venue Opens in Downtown Peterborough

A new restaurant and live music venue on George St. N. has opened Wednesday; with an official grand opening event happening this Saturday.

Photo by Felicia Massey.

Photo by Felicia Massey.

Photo by Felicia Massey.

Photo by Felicia Massey.

Photo by Felicia Massey.

Erben is equip with a full service restaurant and bar in the front, and a live entertainment venue in the back. The venue includes a full stage and second bar available for live music and private events.

Owners Belinda Scollick and Shea Bertrand say their restaurants focus is to provide quality menu items that are “assembled from the freshest ingredients, with bold and inspiring flavours.”

“Downtown is infinitely much more fun now with the addition of Erben,” says Terry Guiel, executive director of the DBIA. “The tasty and cozy design of Erben set's a great tone for this live music gathering spot that doesn't shy away from being all about the party. A welcome addition to our downtown.”

Saturday’s grand opening will begin at 11 a.m., with drinks and food served all day. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. attendees can enjoy . The dance floor will be open for a night of partying from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. with Erben’s DJ. There is no charge or cover for this event.

The party will feature giveaways for beer, Pete’s games and even a pair of tickets to Bluesfest in Ottawa.

To learn more about Erben, visit the website.

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Expanded Downtown Patio Spaces Removed Starting Oct. 18

The City of Peterborough is removing the expanded downtown patio spaces starting Oct. 18 to prepare sidewalks and roads for winter snow-clearing operations announced on Monday.

The expanded patio spaces were installed in June throughout downtown. Photo courtesy of the City of Peterborough.

Any businesses with temporary patios on sidewalks and in on-street parking next to their businesses are having their patio furniture removed by end of Oct. 17. The removal of the fencing and large planters starts the following day.

Hunter Street between George and Aylmer Street returns to a two-lane, two-way street. During the summer, that section was temporarily one lane, westbound one-way street for more patio and pedestrian space.

This was the third consecutive summer for the downtown patios. The additional space supports people who may want to be outside during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The City provided the space for downtown businesses and visitors is another way to support businesses that are recovering from the disruptions caused by the pandemic as stated in their press release.

Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area partnered with the City to maintain the plants in the large planters with the patio spaces.

Peterborough Public Health was consulted by the City for input on the temporary downtown public space changes.

The City coordinated the installation of road murals and artist gardens as part of the Renaissance on Hunter public art project for extra vibrancy.

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Downtown Patio Fences to be Taken Down in Anticipation of Snow Removal

After the summer patio season in the downtown, the City of Peterborough will remove the fencing and patio delineators on Hunter and Charlotte streets between Aylmer and George streets the week of October 18 in preparation for snow clearing operations this winter.

Photo courtesy of the City of Peterborough.

The changes will also include the removal of the fencing and planters for expanded patio areas in public on-street parking areas on George and Water streets in the downtown.

The temporary downtown public space changes were put in place in collaboration with Peterborough Public Health and the Downtown Business Improvement Area to provide additional pedestrian space and outdoor patio opportunities for businesses as a way to support physical distancing during the pandemic this summer.

“It was wonderful to see the activity on the streets and sidewalks this summer. By reconfiguring the space for cars, we were able to create more space for people and businesses while still allowing for smooth traffic flow through the downtown,” said Mayor Diane Therrien. “The wellbeing of individuals and our community as a whole has been our focus during this pandemic.”

City Council approved the temporary downtown public space changes in April as a COVID-19 pandemic response measure.

With the winter approaching, the sidewalk and streets need to be returned to their normal configuration for the City’s snow clearing operations.

“The temporary downtown public space changes were extremely well received this year. It was a great example of how to support restaurants while also providing for the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and vehicle traffic,” said Terry Guiel, Downtown Business Improvement Area executive director. “The DBIA was pleased to support this year’s efforts, especially the wonderful planters that added to the vibrancy of the space.”

Hunter and Charlotte streets between Aylmer and George streets will return to two-way traffic following the removal of the delineators and planters.

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Temporary Parking Lot Available During Simcoe Parking Garage Rehabilitation

The City of Peterborough has provided a temporary parking lot during the closure of the Simcoe Parking Garage for rehabilitation announced Tuesday.

The Simcoe Parking Garage under construction on Simcoe Street. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The lot is at the northwest corner of Simcoe Street and Aylmer Street North for downtown residents and visitors. It opened Tuesday and will remain in use during the closure of the Simcoe Garage. Driveway access to the lot is from Aylmer Street.

The temporary parking lot will provide approximately 30 new spaces, including two accessible spaces. That adds to the 1,490 public parking spaces in parking lots, garages as well as on-street spots in the downtown area.

Beyond the public, municipally-owned parking facilities, there are privately-owned, publicly available parking lots and garages in the downtown area, such as the Peterborough Square parking garage, that provide additional parking capacity.

A pay and display parking meter has been installed in the new temporary lot and customers can also pay for their parking in this lot using the HotSpot mobile parking app. The pay and display machine is located in close proximity to the accessible spaces.

The planned parking rates for this temporary lot will be consistent with other municipal downtown parking lots, with the $1.50 hourly rate applied between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., on weekdays, to a maximum of $10.50 per day. Patrons would receive free parking in the weekday evening hours, after 6 p.m., weekends and holidays.

During the rehabilitation project, customers who normally use the Simcoe Parking Garage are encouraged to use other parking spaces that are available in surface parking lots throughout the downtown area as well as the King Street Parkade. A map of public parking lots is available at peterborough.ca/parking.

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Hunter Street Mural Celebrates Multiculturalism in Peterborough

Artists Miguel Hernández Autorino and Cassandra Lee completed a mural on one of four designated plots on Hunter Street as part of the Renaissance on Hunter Road Mural Project.

Miguel Hernández Autorino and Cassandra Lee sit on their Hunter Street Mural. Photo Courtesy of Hernández Autorino.

Hernández Autorino and Lee created a piece called “Picnic By The Water” inspired by the Canadian landscape and nature which Hernández Autorino says is the most beautiful part of the country. He wanted the piece to encompass the multiculturalism that is so important in Peterborough.

Before the piece was completed, community members from countries like Korea, Singapore, the Philippines and Egypt were invited to paint “Hello” in their country’s language on the mural.

A community member paints “Hello” on Picnic By The Water. Photo Courtesy of Miguel Hernández Autorino.

Those that participated came from the New Canadians Centre where Hernández Autorino was a client when he arrived in Canada from Venezuela in 2016. He is now a volunteer for them.

“I hope this piece brings awareness to all the different cultures that are in this town,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for people to see that we exist and we are a part of this community.”

Picnic By The Water is positioned on the biggest of the four plots that are a part of the Renaissance on Hunter project and Hernández Autorino considers that a big accomplishment.

“It is really inspiring for me as an immigrant artist,” he said. “It’s the first time I feel like I’m achieving something big. I’m an advocate for all the immigrants that are in the same place - we work so hard but sometimes it feels like we don’t get noticed.”

Picnic By The Water can be viewed on Hunter Street in the temporary sidewalk spaces created by lane closures between Aylmer Street and Chambers Street.

This project is presented in partnership with the Downtown Business Improvement Area, Green Up, Artspace Peterborough and the City of Peterborough. It was funded through the City’s Public Art Program.

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Showplace Launches New Initiative to Raise Funds for Renovations

Showplace Performance Centre is getting a new look after being open for 25 years.

Linda Kash - Ambassador, Pat Hooper - Champion, Beth McMaster - Champion, Megan Murphy - Ambassador. Photo Courtesy of Showplace.

The Take a Seat for Act II project is underway and aims to replace the tired seats that Showplace reports millions of spectators have sat in.

This initiative is led by Showplace Champions Pat Hooper and Beth McMaster and Ambassadors Linda Kash and Megan Murphy and hopes to allow community members to enjoy a space where music, live theatre and professional presentations will come to life for many years to come.

A donation of $1000 will allow donors to have their name or the name of someone they would like to honour on a seat. Donations will also go towards floor replacement, lighting and electrical work and painting.

Donations and seat purchases can be made by calling the box office at 705-742-7469 or by clicking here.

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Entrepreneurs Are Preparing for Patio Season As Permitted By the City of Peterborough

As Downtown Peterborough increases space for pedestrians and patios, several entrepreneurs are eager to serve their customers with patio dine-in beginning Friday.

Chemong Lodge (pictured) has been sold by the Northey family to the Adam and Addison Brown, owners of Dr. J’s BBQ & Brews. File Photo

Existing approved patios are permitted to open with the province’s announcement of Stage one re-opening for the Peterborough region.  

Restaurants have been unable to serve dine-in customers since late March due to the emergency brake shutdown announced by the Government of Ontario.

“After a quiet winter and two months of being on lockdown, we’re very excited to see people out on the street again enjoying all that downtown has to offer,” said Susan Tung, owner of Hanoi House.

Tung is a first-time entrepreneur with her Vietnamese restaurant located in downtown Peterborough on Hunter Street and on Lansdowne St. W.

Tung outside her first of two locations of her Vietnamese restaurant: Hanoi House. She opened her business on February 14, 2020. Photo Courtesy of Hanoi House.

Tung is not the only restaurant owner excited to be able to serve dine-in customers again. Taso’s Restaurant & Pizzeria is eager to open its doors to the public for dine-in.

“We’ve been crazy busy this week making sure everything is in place to be able to open our patio for Friday,” said Taso Hatzianastasiou, owner of Taso’s Restaurant & Pizzeria. “We’re really excited to be able to bring back our serving staff and finally welcome customers.”

Taso’s is known for their homemade pizza and Greek cuisine. Hatzianastasiou took ownership of the property on March 30, 2019 and renovated it into Taso’s. Photo courtesy of Taso’s Restaurant & Pizzeria.

The re-opening of restaurants is one more step towards normalcy from the COVID-19 pandemic that has drastically affected the world since March 2020.

”The sentiment of opening is an overwhelming feeling of relief,” said Adam Brown, co-owner of Dr. J’s BBQ and Brews and Chemong Lodge. “I’m relieved that our staff can get back to work, that our guests can feel some sense of normalcy and that we can get back to what we love to do.”

Adam and Addison Brown of Dr. J’s BBQ & Brews and Chemong Lodge will have their first summer owning both businesses. Photo courtesy of Adam Brown.

The City of Peterborough released guidelines that businesses opening patios need to follow under the easing of its emergency orders.

Establishments must take measures to ensure physical distancing of at least two metres between patrons from different households, including: 

• Using reservations – no lineups. 

• Limiting the number of patrons allowed in the outdoor space at one time. 

• Ensuring enough space between tables, including to allow for movement. 

• Access to indoor facilities is limited to patio/outdoor dining area access, food pickup, payment, washrooms or other health and safety purposes. 

• Liquor sales licensees who wish to temporarily extend the physical size of their existing licensed patio, or temporarily add a new licensed patio within the approved period are authorized to do so if all the following criteria are met 

  • The physical extension of the premises is adjacent to the premises to which the licence to sell liquor applies. 

  • The municipality in which the premises is situated does not object to an extension. 

  • The licensee can demonstrate sufficient control over the physical extension of the premises. 

  • There is no condition on the liquor sales licence prohibiting a patio. 

Peterborough Public Health and the City of Peterborough have collaborated to determine precautions that must be followed by businesses choosing to reopen existing, previously approved patios. These precautions include: 

• the restriction of the number of patrons on the patio to a maximum of 50% of the previously approved capacity; 

• the prohibition of any overhead structures such as tents and canopies; the use of umbrellas is encouraged to provide shade

• ensuring that tables and chairs are at least one metre from the outer limit of the patio, in order to facilitate physical distancing. 

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Local Group Creates Video Highlighting Small Businesses During Pandemic

Small businesses have been negatively affected by the pandemic but entrepreneurs Kyle McDonald, Mike Watt and several others wanted to highlight their importance with a heartstring-grabbing video released Monday.

The video, “For SmALL of Us” showcases the importance of how small businesses play a role in local communities. While it is easy to tell everyone to shop local, the video wanted to spread the message to emotionally connect with their audience while preventing the saying from becoming cliché according to both entrepreneurs.

“We’ve seen a million things to say support local and shop local, you can only say the same thing for so long,” said McDonald, owner of Pioneer Inc. “They just push it aside and it falls on deaf ears.”

“It’s about reframing the message about giving small businesses the first opportunity,” said Watt, owner of Providence, S.O.S. Save Our Soles, Flavour Fashion and PTBO Northern Originals. ”I never hear about how Costco is what makes Peterborough so great. It’s the bridal shop you got your wedding dress or the suit you got married in or the coffee shops that you sat down at.“

The 60-second video does not mention Peterborough so it could be used universally. Photo Courtesy of Kyle MacDonald.

The video’s idea was inspired by Watt after a conversation with his wife —who co-owns S.O.S. with Watt — and when Premier Doug Ford and the Government of Ontario announced a month-long province-wide shutdown that extended into six weeks that took effect early April.

Hà Nội House and St. Veronus Café and Tap Room were some of the businesses that were portrayed in the video. Photo Courtesy of Tyler Tindale

The rapidly-changing pandemic rules have forced these small businesses to be creative and innovative just to stay afloat said Watt.

“Everybody is struggling in their own way right now and the creativity is out there,” he said. “People are doing podcasts, interviews and doing these side hustles to bring all these businesses to light. People are seeing how are they are going to survive in this third wave.”

Sam’s Place in Downtown Peterborough on Hunter Street is shown here. Several shots of downtown were taken to compile the video. Photo Courtesy of Tyler Tindale

While the 60-second video contained all shots of Peterborough, the city’s name was not branded so it could apply to all small businesses as opposed to just one place. It has received heavy positive feedback and the message has spread very quickly according to Watt and McDonald.

“Likes are fine (on social media) but shares are what make a difference,” said McDonald. “On the other side, it has made a resurgence and has our city gone up in local business.”

“It’s been awesome. People are really embracing it and sharing it in and out of town. It’s doing what we wanted to do,” said Watt. “We wanted people to have a passion for this town and other towns and have people recognize that this is a conversation.”

The video was branded by brand developer Bryan Sage, videographer Jeremy Kelly did the editing and photography was by Tyler Tinsdale. Klint Davies wrote the script and Mike Judson of Pure Country 105 did the voice-over.

“We have to ramp up to a point in June where we can open. Hopefully we can open and hit the ground running and willing to shop and support these businesses,” said Watt. “We want to start the conversation. It comes from a place of encouragement and our city. We want people to think about our businesses.”

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Donation Of $46,631 Made To Kawartha Food Share From 2020 Free Parking Periods

A total of $46,631.06 was raised for Kawartha Food Share in 2020 through the generosity of people who opted to put money into the parking machines during the 2 Hours Free Parking periods last year sponsored by HotSpot Parking.

“This donation is helping people throughout our community to put food on their tables,” says Mayor Diane Therrien. “The pandemic has forced many families to access food banks for the first time ever. We appreciate the remarkable generosity of our community for making donations despite the challenges of 2020.”

Photo of Ashlee Aiken courtesy City of Peterborough

“We are so thankful for the continued support of the City of Peterborough and the local shoppers for donating to Kawartha Food Share,” says Ashlee Aitken, general manager of Kawartha Food Share. “We know the past year has been tough for many, so seeing that community members still wanted to support our cause by feeding the meters is absolutely incredible.”

Kawartha Food Share currently assists more than 8,900 people every month through its 36 member agencies. It supports four meal programs, four city food banks, six housing projects, seven county food banks, and over 20 food cupboards across the City and County of Peterborough. Last year, the Kawartha Food Share warehouse distributed over $5 million dollars worth of food and emergency care needs.

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